Fighter Character Analysis: Lightning

For the final post in my character anaysis series, I thought i'd finish it off with one of all all time favourites, Lightning from Final Fantasy.

Lightning (Claire Farron) is the main protagonist of Final Fantasy XIII. She is a narrator and temporary playable character in Final Fantasy XIII-2 and returns as the protagonist in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.

Apperance

XIII

XIII-2

Lightning Returns

Lightning is a young woman with wavy pastel pink hair, and pale blue eyes.

In Final Fantasy XIII, she wears a customised Guardian Corps uniform. The metal pauldron over her left shoulder with yellow stripes shows her previous rank as a sergeant. She carries her gunblade in a black case which hangs off her belt, and wears a lightning bolt necklace.

In Final Fantasy XIII-2, Lightning wears a silver and gold suit of armor with a shield on her left arm. She has a new gunblade which is more like a sword this time. This clothing has come to be known as the Knight of Etro.

Knight of Etro resembles the silver armour of a knight; a spike is in at the center of the chestplate and has a gold bird mounted on it where Lightning's l'Cie brand used to be. Spikes also appear on Knight of Etro's elbows and knees. A sash of white feathers covers the her left hip. The white feathers symbolise the presence of goddess Etro and divinity.

During Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning has a number of different costumes. Her default outfit, Equilibrium, is similar to what she wore in Final Fantasy XIII-2. Lightning wears a black chest-piece with a long collar that frames her face. She wears silver pauldrons, and the upper part of her arms are covered with red straps decorated with silver bits. She wears a cape coming off the back of each pauldron, that are symmetical. . The inside colour of the capes on both are red. Lightning wears red and black thigh high boots.

Personality

Lightning is determined, concentrated and independent. Initially, she is cold and standoffish, distancing herself from her companions. She only looks out for herself and doesn't care if others are left behind. Much of her motivation is fueled from what she perceives as failing to protect Serah leading her to lash out at those she believes are responsible for her fate.

As she journeys with Hope Estheim, she acts as his mentor and surrogate mother figure. Taking him under her wing, Lightning becomes more emotionally open as Hope acts as a surrogate sibling and helps her see the errors in her approach and realize the mistakes she made with Serah. Lightning also begins to show compassion and trust others. Ultimately, she becomes the leader.

In Final Fantasy XIII-2, Lightning has almost become a new woman due to the experiences and emotions she has endured. She has learned to trust others and ask them for help, and expresses her emotions rather than keeping them bottled up. Her recognition of her past "sins" has made her more somber.

In Lightning Returns, Lightning is initially cold and distant, most of her emotions sapped from her, although her memories remain intact. As her quest advances, Lightning begins to show compassion toward others because of her assigned task to save their souls. Straying from her cold-hearted personality, she begins to encourage those struggling. By the end of her quest, Lightning has come around from her self-imposed tough and emotionless warrior persona.

Skills

Lightning is a quick and agile fighter who wields gunblades in battle, although in the later two games only operate in blade form. Her primary roles are Commando, Ravager and Medic. She has balanced stats, and thus the player can gear her toward a physical or magical fighter via equipment as they see fit. She is versatile as she is fairly proficient in all roles, but as as a downside has low HP.

Lightning's signature attack is Army of One where Lightning lunges at the enemy and performs multiple hits in quick succession.

Conclusion

Its interesting to see how others have changed lighting along her journey, from being a cold, distant woman to a warm, loving one. This has made me think about how my characters are going to change along the way. Are they going to stay the same throughout the entire game or are they going to change? If so how are they going to change and why?

sources:

http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Lightning_(Final_Fantasy_XIII)

Final Fantasy XIII

Final Fantasy XIII-2

Final Fantasy: Lightling Returns